Five Times William Walked (or Ran) Away
by Ashleigh Crawley
Summary: A Cobert fanfic with a terrified 2nd Footman in every chapter. The fic that was the inspiration for my other fc, For a Love Like That. This fic has 5 chapters, all which can be summed up by Cora and Robert getting lucky and poor William. M to be safe. It could be T, but I am playing it safe.
1. The Missing Button

**Five Times William Walked (or Ran) Away: A Cobert fanfic with a terrified 2nd Footman in every chapter.**

**Author's Note: Well, many of you seemed to really like _For a Love Like That_, so here is the original idea I had, before remembering that Daisy went around every morning to do the fires, and had possibly witnessed sights of Robert and Cora in the morning, wrapped up in each other. I started chapter one a while back, but I couldn't find my notes, so I only just got off my feet last night and got it fully written. **

**Chapter One: The Missing Button**

William wandered down one of the upstairs hallways on a mission. Mr. Bates had asked him to look for a button, in exchange for polishing silver for Mr. Carson. William's least favourite part of his job was polishing silver, and Mr. Bates was quite nice to him, stuck up for him to Thomas. Also, with Mr. Bates leg, all this walking and bending up and down a hallway and a staircase wouldn't do him any good. He had so far been looking for half-an-hour, and yet no sign of the missing button from his Lordship's best tweed jacket.

The family was asleep, so William remained as quiet as possible, using a candle to light the ground in front of him. He had checked many routes that his Lordship walked often, as well as the library, drawing room, the area of the front door, just outside the house, the main stairs, the dining room and now he was walking down the hallway that was home to his Lordship's dressing room and her Ladyship's bedroom.

William had a slight crush on her Ladyship, she was absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world, and William envied his Lordship for being married to her. They were a happy couple, but he still assumed that they slept apart, like upper class propriety dictated they should. His mind briefly drifted to thoughts of her Ladyship sleeping in her (most likely) large bed, all cares erased from her face, perhaps wearing a small smile as an external reaction of her beautiful dreams. After all, such a beautiful woman should only have the most beautiful dreams imaginable, correct? Of course. He looked around, thinking that his Lordship _must _have lost the button near, or in, his dressing room and Mr Bates could have missed it. He scrutinized the floor even more now, determined to find his Lordship's button.

It wasn't just so that Mr Bates would polish the silver for him, or to make sure that his Lordship's tweed jacket had all the buttons, but because of her Ladyship. She seemed to like him in the particular tweed jacket that was missing a button, and William thought that if he was the cause of the button being found, and sewn back on, her Ladyship would be happy to see her husband in it, and when she was happy, William was happy too. Her Ladyship was happy quite often, especially in the afternoon's after tea, when she would rest in her room, alone, until dinner.

William suddenly spotted a dark brown object on the floor outside her Ladyship's bedroom. It was the missing button. He bent down to pick it up, and that was when he heard it. A loud moan coming from her Ladyship's bedroom. He stood up with a fearful look in her eye. Surely his Lordship would have heard it and he'd go check on her. He heard a bed creak and knew that it meant his Lordship was going to check on her, until he heard it creak again and another loud moan. The pattern of moaning and bed creaking continued, and then William realized that he hadn't heard a door open. His Lordship was in his wife's room, with her. What on Earth were they doing to cause moaning and bed creaking.

"Oh Cora, darling, oh, Cora," he heard his Lordship groan, with a reply from her Ladyship that was completely muffled. William's eyes shot to his forehead as realization dawned on him. He knew exactly what they were doing. He had heard some of the other servants talk about such matters going on between the Lord and Lady of the House, but he imagined that they were all making it up and such. William turned on his heels and ran away to find Mr. Bates to give him back the missing button. Once the button was in Mr. Bates' hands and William had told him where it was, Bates chuckled and understood why William had been blushing like crazy.


	2. Time for Tea

**Chapter Two: Time for Tea**

William wasn't usually left to serve afternoon tea, but Mr. Carson had to make a run into the village (an emergency required his attention) and Thomas was nowhere to be found. William thought about asking one of the maids for help, but decided against it, knowing Mr. Carson wouldn't like it. Lady Mary, Lady Edith and Lady Sybil were all out doing other things, so it was just Lord and Lady Grantham for tea that day. William carried the tray upstairs, stopping outside the library and listening. Every since the 'button incident' as he referred to it, he was cautious around the Lord and Lady of the House. He now knew that they were still intimate with one another, and he wasn't exactly sure whether or not they restricted their 'activities' to the bedroom at night, and he didn't want to walk in to any room of the house and find Lord and Lady Grantham in a state of undress wrapped around one another, he wouldn't be able to face them ever again after that, not without blushing like mad, of course.

After listening for a moment, William hadn't heard any inappropriate noises coming from the library from Lord and Lady Grantham, so he decided it was safe. He balanced the tray in one hand, praying that he didn't drop it and he opened the door. Neither Lord nor Lady were anywhere to be seen. He went to place the tray on the table and then go and search for them, but when he turned around, he saw the two of them on the floor. His Lordship was hovering above his wife and her legs were bent and spread, allowing him to rest between them. Lady Grantham's hands were on her husband's back, his Lordship's on either side of his wife's head and William knew that they were either looking into each others eyes, or kissing. William blushed slightly and made sure that he put the tea tray down as quietly as possible, before turning around and leaving.

After about an hour, William went to retrieve the tea tray from the library, assuming either they had forgotten to ring for it to be picked up, or they were still on the floor, embracing one another and had simply ignored their tea. He opened the door to the library very quietly, even though he expected no one was inside. He picked up the empty tea tray off the table and turned around to bring it downstairs. His jaw dropped at the sight before him, but he did his best to remain quiet. Lord Grantham's trousers, jacket, waistcoat, shirt and tie were all off and laying on the settee, along with Lady Grantham's frock. The couple were on the floor in their underclothes and Lord Grantham's mouth was attached to Lady Grantham's neck and he was quite obviously sucking on it. Her Ladyship's head was thrown back and her eyes were most likely shut. "Oh Robert," she whispered, moving one of her hands from the back of his head to grab his backside through his underwear. William hurried out of the library and downstairs, ridding himself of the tea tray before going to sit for a moment in the servant's hall.

Once Robert had reluctantly gotten off of his wife, they noticed the tea tray was gone. It had disappeared just as silently and mysteriously as it had arrived. They exchanged horrified glances. If it had been Carson to catch them in their acts, he may not have been phased, after stumbling upon the two of them many times in different areas of the house, but if it had been any one else, they would be a topic of servant gossip, even more than they already were. Robert looked at Cora and laughed lightly. "Let the servant's talk all they want," he whispered in his wife's ear. "What we have is special, and people do little else but talk any ways."


	3. Telegram, M'Lord

**Chapter Three: Telegram, M'Lord**

**Author's Note: Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this fic. Here is more awkward William for your day. This one has a little bit of William getting jealous of Robert. Poor William. :(**

William walked into the library in quite the mood. Thomas and Mr. Carson were nowhere to be found and there was a telegram that had just arrived for His Lordship and now he needed to find him to give it to him. Lately, Lord and Lay Grantham had been spending a lot more time together and they also seemed to be in contact at all times. Thankfully for them, the Dowager Countess hadn't been coming to dinner, or she'd be appalled by their lack of propriety and sitting next to one another at dinner. Every day, it seemed William had to bring them something and Thomas and Mr. Carson were always unavailable. To William, it seemed like His Lordship knew that he had a crush on his wife and he was dangling the fact that she was his in front of him constantly. Of course William knew that Lady Grantham could never be his, she was to in love with her husband, but it set his teeth on edge the way they flaunted it. It made him want to find a woman he loved that much, marry her and love her every moment of the day. He turned around and walked out of the library, after realizing that they were not in there. He checked the Drawing Room quickly before he ran into Anna.

"Anna?" he asked.

"Yes William?" she inquired.

"Do you know where His Lordship is?" he asked. "I have to give this telegram to him."

"I know that Her Ladyship was going out for a stroll in the gardens," she replied. "Judging by the amount of time they have been spending together lately, I would assume that His Lordship is with her."

"Thank you Anna," William said, turning around and heading out to the gardens.

After ten minutes or so, William found Lord and Lady Grantham sitting on one of the benches. Well, not sitting exactly. Lady Grantham was curled into her husband's lap with her head bent upwards, kissing him. Lord Grantham's hands were in places that William didn't want to look at, because the last time he had looked at that part of her Ladyship's body, he nearly fell down the stairs. Even though there were no stairs in the gardens, it was still inappropriate to look at his employer like that. He backed up and stepped on a rather large twig, breaking it, hoping that they would hear it, care and stop their indecent acts. After a moment, he heard his Lordship say, cautiously, "hello."

William stepped out from his hiding place. "Telegram for you, M'Lord," he stammered, noticing that Her Ladyship was still in her husband's lap with her arms around his neck, with her hair slightly out of sorts.

"Thank you William," Lord Grantham said, holding out his hand, waiting for William to hand him the telegram. William passed it to him, looking at Lady Grantham's face, which she didn't notice, she was too busy looking at her husband's face with utter adoration. William tried to not let his mind wander and wonder what the Lord and Lady of the House had been doing. He had heard many things happen between them and he knew that it meant the were in love, but they made a lot of people slightly uncomfortable, especially him, since he had quite the crush on Lady Grantham.

William turned around and left the couple in peace. He didn't want to hear anything more in the way of Her Ladyship's giggling into her husband's mouth. He walked on for a moment before hearing a slight shriek of pleasure, obviously from Her Ladyship. William's face took a look of alarm, trying to not think of what they could be doing, until he heard a loud, "Good God, Cora," from His Lordship. William's jaw dropped and he ran back to the house as quickly as he could.

**Next Chapter: Featuring Tom Branson.**


	4. Join the Club, Branson

**Chapter Four: Join the Club, Branson**

William stood out in the driveway of Downton Abbey, waiting for Lord and Lady Grantham to return from the theatre. They had dressed for dinner and the theatre before the gong and left around 7:30. It was now 11 PM and the Lord and Lady of the house still had not returned. His jealousy of Lord Grantham had increased significantly that day, as Her Ladyship walked down the stairs to meet her husband for their outing. She looked so amazing that William had a hard time keeping his jaw from dropping at the sight of her. She was wearing a long dark blue dress that hugged her figure very nicely, her hair was styled in the most amazing (and time consuming way, according to Miss O'Brien when she came downstairs.) It was sort of half up and half down, and William knew that she was the most beautiful woman he would ever lay eyes on. When he had managed to tear his eyes away from her, he glanced at His Lordship's reaction to his wife. He had a complete worshipful look on his face and his eyes sparkled with adoration. When she had taken her husband's arm to go to the motor, Lord Grantham looked very proud at having her on his arm.

After what seemed like an eternity, William saw the motor coming up the drive. Once the motor pulled up, William went to open the door before he heard giggling coming from the interior. William's jaw dropped. The motor now? What next, the Servants Hall? The garden and library had been bad enough. Her Ladyship's bedroom was an acceptable place, but every where else was simply improper. Knowing how often they had each other, one would assume that they'd have more than 3 children. William stood at the door, waiting for the noises to stop before he knocked on the door. Branson waved him forward.

"Are they still going at it?" he asked William, who nodded, gulping slightly. Branson shook his head and continued talking. "When they got in, she was leaning on him heavily. She was giggling, and he was whispering in her ear. Then they started banging around in the back and giggling even louder. There was even some shrieking going on. You have to give it to them though, for their age and status, they love each other very much. At least we don't need to keep secrets of them having other lovers. That's difficult."

"I can imagine, this is the only house I have worked in," William said as a thud came from the back of the motor, which a loudly whispered "Robert, Branson might hear us. Put them back on. We can finish off upstairs."

Branson and William's eyes widened at the sound of Her Ladyship's voice, almost certainly telling her husband to put his clothes back on. They waited a few more minutes until they were sure that the couple was fully dressed and looking reasonable. William then walked back to the door and opened it. They were looking slightly dishevelled but as appropriate as you could be when you got dressed in the back of the motor. Or so William assumed.

"Ah, William, lovely night, isn't it?" His Lordship asked, smiling as he stepped out of the motor, offering his hand to his wife.

"Lovely night indeed, M'Lord," he replied, shutting the door after Her Ladyship stepped out and took her husband's arm again.

"Good night William, you can tell Bates and O'Brien to go to bed if they're still downstairs," she said, smiling and eyeing her husband with a heavy mix of adoration and lust. Lord Grantham proudly led his wife inside and up the stairs to her bedroom. When they were halfway up the stairs, William saw His Lordship's hand slip down to grab his wife's backside. She squealed in delight and sped up the stairs, her husband following close behind. William didn't think he could see much more of them without snapping and telling Lord Grantham to keep his manhood in his trousers **and **his pants by extension.


	5. All the way Up

**Chapter Five: All the way up**

William's morning was going surprisingly well. He had waken up on time, had his breakfast, ironed the papers and was now heading upstairs to clear up from the previous night, where Lord and Lady Grantham had insisted that the staff turned in while they spent some more time in the library. They had even dismissed Miss O'Brien and Mr. Bates, saying that they could handle preparing for bed themselves. William knew what that really meant. They'd probably strip down to no clothes at all and just spend the night wrapped up in each other. William's stomach churned at the thought. While he knew that the Lord and Lady of the House were deeply in love, and they were lucky to have each other, their level of sickly romantic was sometimes bordering on gross. He headed to the library to find the room in a horrible state. Champagne flutes and bottles littered the tables, various items from his Lordship's desk had been pushed aside and some had fallen off, the shoes that the couple had worn to dinner were on either the settee or on the floor beside it, her Ladyship's gloves were draped across the settee itself and his Lordship's tails were on the floor by the fire. William checked the entirety of the library to make sure that Lord Grantham and his wife were not in the room, so he could clear up and bring their clothing to Mr. Bates and Miss O'Brien. He left the library with their various articles of clothing in hand and started heading downstairs when he spotted Lord Grantham face first on the stairs and her Ladyship's dinner frock from the night before two steps up. Lord Grantham was stark naked and William assumed Lady Grantham was the same, underneath him. William shut his eyes and shook his head furiously. Anna came up beside him. "William, what's wrong? And why do you have her Ladyship's gloves in your hands?" she asked. William opened his eyes and pointed to where Lord Grantham was sprawled on the stairs. Anna's jaw dropped and she covered it with her hand.

"Oh my gosh," she said. "I will never be able to look at him the same way. Who's under him, do you think? Her Ladyship?"

"Without a doubt," William croaked. "Her dress is right above them. Could they not wait until they got upstairs to her bedroom for that kind of thing? I found these," he held up the articles of clothing. "in various locations of the library."

"Well, you know what that means, right?" Anna asked. "It means that they obviously started their coupling in the library and tried to move it upstairs, but they could obviously only get one all the way up." She giggled at her own joke. William looked at her with a puzzled look. "Oh, William, you obviously know how that kind of thing works." The meaning of Anna's words finally dawned on William as he turned bright red. Anna started laughing hysterically at William's expression. "Oh, William, I'm joking."

"But Anna, that was a horrible joke," he stammered, but still smiled at it.

"Alright, well maybe we should leave before they wake up," she said, not realizing that Robert had awoken and was wondering where he was. He sat up and looked down at Cora, smiling. God, she was so beautiful, even after the two of them had fallen asleep on the stairs. He leaned down and kissed her lips gently, awakening her and making her moan softly.

"But, William, I have to admit. For his age, his Lordship's backside is rather nice," she giggled.

"So are her Ladyship's breasts," William muttered, making Anna's jaw drop.

"You've been spying on her Ladyship? Best not let his Lordship find out. He'd kill you," Anna said, her eyes wide in shock.

"No, I haven't been spying on her, I've just seen the two of them being all, you know, a married couple all over the place, and I've seen her breasts a few times," William replied. "It's not like I see them on purpose or anything. If I had my choice, I'd not have seen them at it at all."

Anna turned her attention back to the stairs and let out a scream of shock. His Lordship was awake and moving on top of his wife. Lady Grantham's hands were on her husband's back. His lips looked like they were attached to her neck as her Ladyship moaned loudly. At the sound of Anna's scream, his Lordship froze in his movements. He tried to continue shielding Cora's body as he moved to find the source of the scream. His jaw dropped in shock as he saw Anna and William standing there. Anna scampered off. "Who screamed Robert?" her Ladyship asked.

"Er, Anna, darling, the servants are up and working," he said. "William, I'm so sorry. Tell Anna I'm sorry."

"William's there too?" she asked. "What must he think of us? Oh, I feel terrible. William, I am so sorry."

"M'Lord," William said. "Would you like the clothing recovered from the library? And no apologies necessary, M'Lord. Honestly, this isn't the first time I've seen you and her Ladyship together intimately."

Robert covered his mouth with his hand. "Yes, thank you, I'll take our clothes, and William, for any of the other times you've heard or seen anything, we apologize," Lord Grantham said as William approached him and gave him the clothes and shoes from the library before running downstairs to the Servant's Hall. William was silent for most of the rest of the day.

_Author's Note: So, to everyone who read this fic, thank you so very much. I wrote this last chapter three times, and this one seemed like the best one. If you want, please review. I promise to write more involving Cora and Robert shocking their servants, and a very humorous one is in my head, in which the servants share their scaring experiences with each other in therapy sessions that Carson and Mrs Hughes decide to start because of Lord and Lady Grantham scaring all their servants. _


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